I’m terrible at telling apart pygmy owls and owlets; they all look the same to me, but I have poor color differentiation skills. In the article about her (re)discovery, Pamela Rasmussen gives the fiber details to tell them apart.

Although there has been considerable confusion in the literature (Ali 1978), identification of the Forest Owlet is straightforward (see also Rasmussen and Collar 1998). From above, the unspotted brown crown, nape and back, sharply contrasting with the broadly blackish and white banded wings, coupled with the broad blackish (fresh plumage) or dark brown (worn plumage) tail bands, readily distinguish it from both Spotted and Jungle Owlets. The breast looks entirely dull brown, contrasting sharply with the white belly and undertail coverts. The white belly with several broad dark bars on the flanks makes the bird look quite different from the Jungle Owlet, which has narrowly barred flanks, and from the Spotted Owlet, which has dusky spotting on the belly and undertail coverts. The face is paler brown and less contrasting than that of the Spotted Owlet, and lacks that species’s white border behind the auriculars.

At close range the upperparts of the Forest Owlet are a colder, greyer brown than the Spotted Owlet, with faint, small whitish speckling (more prominent in worn plumage) on the crown, nape and back. The mien of the Forest Owlet is more like that of the fierce Glaucidium than the clownish Spotted Owlet. The Forest Owlet looks quite large-headed, much more so than either Jungle or Spotted Owlets. The first of the Forest Owlets seen regularly wagged its tail from side to side, making the tail banding easy to see.

Whatever you say, Pam! 😅

The (re)discovery photos: